562 PHILOLOGY. 



6. THE TSHINUK FAMILY. 



(Q. Watjlala [I. Watylala; m. Ni^aloitif.']. R. Tginuk, [n. Tciniik; o. T^latsap ; 



p. Wakatktrm.]) 



The numerous variations in these vocabularies, besides those which spring from 

 dialectical differences, must be ascribed, in part, to the extreme indistinctness in the 

 pronunciation, in which and s, lc and g, d and t, and even m and b, are constantly 

 confounded, and in part to grammatical changes in the form of words, indicating some 

 difference of meaning, as in inkgi^at, mouth, itgkiigy.at, my mouth, &c. 



So extremely difficult is the pronunciation of many of the sounds and combinations of 

 elements in this language, that foreigners seldom attempt to acquire it. Notwithstanding 

 the close intercourse which has been maintained with this people by traders and settlers 

 for more than thirty years, only one instance is known of a white man having learned to 

 speak the language with fluency. This man was a Canadian, who went to the country 

 in Mr. Astor's first expedition, and has remained there ever since. In the course of a 

 long illness, during which he was nursed by the natives, he chose to occupy himself in 

 acquiring a knowledge of their tongue, and by so doing obtained no little celebrity among 

 both foreigners and Indians. The extreme difficulty of learning this speech has probably 

 been one of the causes which have given rise to the curious "jargon," which has for 

 many years formed the usual medium of communication between the traders and the 

 natives, and of which an account is given in another place. 



The consonant sounds in the language are g (or s), k (or g), /., I, m (or b), n, p, q, t, 

 and w. 



So far as our knowledge extends, the Tshinuk seems to be still more remarkable for 

 the variety of its forms than either the Selish or the Sahaptin. In the pronouns, for 

 example, it has not only the dual, but also, in the first person, both of the dual and 

 the plural, a twofold form, one excluding, and the other including, the party addressed. 

 We find also, in one dialect (if not in all), two pronouns of the third person singular, 

 masculine and feminine, a distinction which is not made in many of the Indian tongues. 



The following are the personal pronouns in the language of the Upper Chinooks, or 

 Watlalas. 



SINGULAR. DUAL. PLURAL. 



naika, I ndaika, we two (ex.) ntgaika, we (exc.) 



tyaika, we two (inc.) trfyaika, we (inc.) 



maika, thou mdaika, ye two mgaika, ye 



iay.ka, he igta^ka, they two tylaitgka, they 



The possessive pronouns are, as in Selish, particles joined to the nouns. They are the 

 same, except for the first person, as the two or three first letters of the personal pronouns. 

 With itiikulyle or itukwutyk, house, they make 



kukwtttyl or kiikwityl, my house ndakwityl ntgakivityl, our house (exc.) 



